You are not fit to use Apple products because your desires run counter to the "Apple Way". Only the most cretinous of slack jawed yokels would suggest Apple's change to a mute button is anything but insanely great magically different genius.

"I personally welcome the feature to make the 'mute button' on the iPad back into the screen orientation lock."

The bigger news today is that Apple has decided that developing for iOS or the Mac, without even submitting anything to their respective app stores, is now no longer free. Developers registered in the $99 iOS or Mac developer program get it as part of their subscription, but all others have to pay $4.99 [apple.com] now.

While $4.99 is chump change, it just seems like an odd thing to do and comes across as greedy. Seriously, they aren't going to make any significant amount of money from this, so why bother? I can't imagine what they were thinking. All it does is serve as yet another roadblock, albeit low-priced, to getting into the walled garden. I imagine a lot of young, aspiring developers will see this and look elsewhere instead. Maybe that's a good thing?

Jesus christ, it's just an IDE. You can still develop Mac apps with vim and gcc.

Without XCode? Getting a working toolchain on OS X without first installing XCode (which includes gcc and binutils) is non-trivial.

Apple released an updated version of XCode 3 today (3.2.6). Looking at the release notes, it includes the latest build tools as well as the updated SDK for developing iOS 4.3 apps. It also includes some updates/changes to the XCode 3 IDE.

Apple is charging the $5 for the fancy new IDE only. You still get everything else with the free download.

The bigger news today is that Apple has decided that developing for iOS or the Mac, without even submitting anything to their respective app stores, is now no longer free.

Umm, charging $5 for the latest version of the dev tools is not equivalent to charging all developers for the Mac platform. You can use the older version of Xcode for free or you can use dozens of other tool kits from other vendors and pay Apple nothing.

While $4.99 is chump change, it just seems like an odd thing to do and comes across as greedy.

It is the result of US accounting law. They can't give it away for free and claim it as part of the cost of OS X as they have been since there are too many new features in it to pass muster. So they charge a minimal fee until the next OS X release then claim it is also rolled into the price of that OS for new users.

Seriously, they aren't going to make any significant amount of money from this, so why bother?

I think I just answered this.

I imagine a lot of young, aspiring developers will see this and look elsewhere instead. Maybe that's a good thing?

I suppose it's possible, or they'll use Eclipse or the older version of Xcode or any number of other toolkits.

While I agree and lament the fact that Slashdot often favors "sensational" and completely incorrect posts and stories, your accusation here is without merit. Xcode is not free with a free developer account. It requires the $99 Mac or iOS developer program subscription, or can be purchased for $4.99 from the Mac app store, as previously stated.

The bigger news today is that Apple has decided that developing for iOS or the Mac, without even submitting anything to their respective app stores, is now no longer free. Developers registered in the $99 iOS or Mac developer program get it as part of their subscription, but all others have to pay $4.99 now.

Or you know, you could like, register for a free Apple developer account here for free:

Apple doesn't allow charging for updates (yet), but that doesn't stop developers from working around it. Tweetie 1.0 was succeeded by a different version as 2.0, for which the user would need to pay $2 again.

$99 a year is if you want to release apps via the App Store and have access to beta versions of the OS, along with professional developer support. The $99 includes XCode 4.

$4.99 is an accounting charge due to financial reforms passed after the Enron mess. XCode 3.x comes free with every Mac, and 4.x will come free with Lion, as it's cost is built into the overall cost of the OS.

And XCode 3.x is still free with any new Mac (required to run XCode anyhow). XCode 4 will return to free status when Lion ships. The $4.99 is simply an accounting fee due to Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002. Enough new features and functionality were added to XCode 4 to qualify it as a proper upgrade, and Apple hasn't been counting revenue from new Macs and OS X as "subscription" revenue needed to allow it to be released for free.

The $4.99 is simply an accounting fee due to Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002.

And that's simply a lie. Google gives away almost all of their services, Microsoft gives away versions of Visual Studio, Red Hat gives away darn near everything, but Apple has to charge for a completely optional download that a tiny percentage of users will want to use? Nope, I don't buy it for a second. Either Apple has the most incompetent accountants in the technology sector, or they're charging because they want to for whatever reason.

It's not a lie, it's due to that act, and how Apple runs their books. Yes, all the companies you mentioned give things away for free, and so does Apple, depending on what it is. XCode is classified as part of the OS, a paid component that Apple either sells as a standalone disc for upgrades, or part of the price of a new Mac. If Microsoft claimed Visual Studio was part of Windows and distributed it with every version of Windows 7, then they would have to deal with how to account for a "free" upgrade from VS 2008 to VS2010. They could either claim VS 2010 is simply a bugfix release (not likely to hold up in courts if they were ever challenged on it), or defer the revenue recognition of Windows 7 over a period of time that covers when VS2010 was released. OS X is not a deferred revenue product for Apple, so they already recognized the income before XCode 4 came out. Accounting wise, they can't say that XCode 4 dev time (salary money, etc) was a cost component of the currently released version of OS X.

If you listen to financial reports from pretty much any major company, they report revenue in GAAP and non GAAP terms. GAAP tends to have all the "subscription" and deferred revenue crap, while non GAAP represents exactly what came in that precise quarter. If you want to read more on the details, refer to these Wikipedia articles:

That's.... weird. I can download XCode for free from the developer website. It would seem they are just selling the OSX version. Yet the one that I download from the developer site includes iOS & OSX. So confusing.

While this visit to the Argument Clinic is entertaining, you really can't download it gratis if you're just part of the Apple Developer Program. You need to specifically be subscribed into either Mac or iOS dev programs (i.e. the $99/yr subs). Either that, or the website is flat-out lying to me when I log in with my Apple ID and go to http://developer.apple.com/xcode/ [apple.com] . For me, that page tells me I'm not eligible, upsells me to the paid programs, and refers me to the App Store otherwise.

If you are not a member of either the Mac or iOS Developer Program, you may purchase Xcode 4 from the Mac App Store for $4.99. If you are registered as an Apple Developer, you can download Xcode 3 for free at http://developer.apple.com/xcode [apple.com].

Yep, AT&T charges $20 extra for tethering a month. The device will force you to sign up before enabling it, so no issues with being charged accidentally.

Do I agree with tethering charges? Not really. But it makes it easier for me to do my job on the go, without worrying about jailbreaking my device and using another method that runs afoul of my contract with AT&T.

Usually, I'm quick to mod things (game consoles, etc), but for nearly two years I've stayed "legit" with my iPhone 3GS. I figured that as long as Apple gave me first-class features and updates, I'd stick with them.

I almost jailbroke when 4.2 came out because "find my phone" wasn't available (for free) on the 3GS, but luckily discovered a workaround to make it happen.For 4.3, I was looking forward to the WiFi hotspot feature. But today, I discover that you only get this on the iPhone 4. The 3GS just keeps the same old USB and Bluetooth tethering, renamed to "personal hotspot".

I don't begrudge Apple for being unwilling/unable to add the coolest new features to the 3GS, but if the jailbreak community can take better care of me then I guess that's where I'll have to go.

oh crap, just yesterday i upgraded to 4.2.1 on my jailbroken 3G. Does anyone know if I have to wait until the boys at Dev-Team post a new tut on iClarified before I can upgrade again? I had so much fun (sic) the last time, I can't wait to do it again. thx...

Apple did a tremendous job in the last decade in kicking some serious ass in the industry where ass-kicking was in dire need. Ever since Steve Jobs made the bold and very smart move to Unix I have allways been favourable to them. The fist iMac was the first PC ever not requiring a Monitor adjustment and setup - something most novices were not capable of. My first Mac was a later generation iBook G4 - the cheapest subnotebook available at the time. It played along perfectly with my otherwise entirely Linux driven setup. And its in regular use to this very day, chugging along on the last PPC version of Tiger. With Apache, Samba, the entire GNU Stack and yet some OSS goodies pre-installed and configured. There are a lot more positive things I could detail that they've done - like breaking the carrier grip on cellphones and the software they run or comming up with the best possible DRM compromise at the time and convincing the industry that that is the maximum possible.

The latest developments however don't get my approval at all. The iPad is the sweet looking end of a very ugly solid vertical distribution-and-access lock-in cortesy to apple. The device looks cool, no doubt, but it is factually a step backwards in technology as it effectively is not a turing complete computer anymore. I just talked to a guy at our local apple vendor about this: It apparently isn't possible to install your own software on this thing without having a 99$/year developer subscription with apple. If I have to do that, then this is in effect not a turing complete device and thus factually no computer anymore. It's a neat computer driven consumer device - but that's all.

What I'm wondering is how far Apple will be able to go with this until people notice that they are a new sort of old IBM and start switching to more open devices. If Apple continues building them neat enough, maybe never? Who knows.I for one can say that I am not buying, unless Im paid insane or at least solid amounts of money for developing for the iPad. I might by yet another M*cBook, but as for these oh-so-neat 'Post-PC-Devices', as they are called, I'm going to test the waters with a far more open and thus truely turing complete solution. My new HTC Desire HD btw is an awesome such device. Definitely the iPhone killer.... FYI: I'm writing this on a Mac.

But students and hobbyists can't necessarily afford a Mac Pro or MacBook Pro. Instead, they buy an iMac or MacBook, or those already owning a PC that runs Windows or Linux might buy a Mac mini and a KVM switch.

Any reasonably modern Mac can run XCode. You don't need a Mac Pro to make iOS apps. You can do it on a $400 used Mac Mini. I've seen it done.

If a "walled" console-like experience becomes the norm for home computing, how would one go about earning enough experience to qualify for a devkit?

Anyone can make an iOS app for free with free tools that run on pretty much any Mac. You have to pay $99 to deploy it to actual physical phones. No one is going to be stopped from learning about making iOS apps because of this.

You can have a $299 locked-down iPhone, or a $398 iPhone that you can do whatever the hell you want to. Or, you can get a $299 iPhone and jailbreak it and do whatever the hell you want to it -- no one cares either way.

You know what the $99 is for? It's paying Apple to generate a cert for *you* so that every one else who has an iPhone can be cryptographically assured that they are not running malware or other crap. This is a good thing, and it's no different than having to pay for an ssl cert, or paying MS to sign your kernel drivers, etc etc. The price might be different, but the concept is the same. Users don't want to trust you. They want to trust their vendor. The $99 is almost completely besides the point.

The fist iMac was the first PC ever not requiring a Monitor adjustment and setup

Didn't you mean the 1984 Macintosh?

something most novices were not capable of.

If novices are capable of plugging a cable into a TV and a cable box, they're capable of plugging a cable into a monitor and a computer. Or am I misunderstanding what you mean by "monitor adjustment and setup"?

I think the biggest limitation with the iPad is relative to removable media. The 2nd generation device *still* only has 64GB flash -- WTF? I'm not a genius transcoder but most DVD-length movies run nearly 1.5 GB in SD and 4 in HD. With 20 gigs of music, apps and their data you're looking at room for only about 7-8 HD movies, and that's if you pack it totally full.

That's OK for maybe a week's vacation, but it's not enough if you want to travel further or access a larger amount of data than will fit on the

The hot spot feature is such a rip off. I know the carriers forced it to be a system you pay extra for but why is that? With At&t they don't offer unlimited data plans any more so why am I limited on how I use my bandwidth they will charge me extra for the bandwidth why do I have to pay the carier for a software feature?

I never said you did. You claimed the feature was rip-off, and yet, that's an issue with your carrier, not an issue with Apple.Not everyone has to pay to use it, it seems to only be American carriers who screw people so much.

Apple has made plenty of other boneheaded decisions with recent updates, but this isn't something they control.

I'm sure you already know this, but there is a jailbreak hack that enables native tethering without having to pay AT&T any extra money. Jailbreak your iPhone, add the hackulous repo to Cydia, and then install tetherme. You'll be able to use tethering just like you had paid to enable it.

The improvements to Airplay are pretty underrated. You can now stream your entire iTunes library to your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch (if they're on the same LAN). That's kinda a big improvement, because so many people on/. whine how they can't fit their entire library on only 64GB of space. Videos too.

I didn't want to be dependent on AT&T and Samsung to push out an Android update and I didn't want to have to root my phone on day one.I choose an iPhone 4 because for all it's suck Apple is in control of OS updates not AT&T.

Yeah, my gf has an Android based from Samsung. I don't think it's had an OS upgrade from them. At least Apple keep pushing the updates to current and older phones without expecting you to buy a newer model. Also, Samsung's software (Keyes or something like that) is absolutely horrible to use (yes, worse than iTunes), and Windows only (we have a Mac at home). It's enough to put me off Samsung/Android.

Yeah, my gf has an Android based from Samsung. I don't think it's had an OS upgrade from them. At least Apple keep pushing the updates to current and older phones without expecting you to buy a newer model.

Original iPhone and iPhone 3G owners would disagree with you, and they're only 3 years old.

But 2.3 was "released" in December, so even buying direct from Google meant a 2-3 month wait on a phone barley a year old. iPhone 3GS owners (a phone nearly 2 years old now) got 4.3 the exact same day as everyone else.

To be fair (and before others point it out), Apple didn't release 4.3 for the Verizon iPhone yet. While the custom 4.2.6 build it shipped with has some of the 4.3 features, it doesn't have them all. So even Apple isn't perfect with getting updates out the door for all devices at once.

Fair counterpoint Mr. AC, though having followed the development cycle of 4.3, it didn't delay the release by months. Apple does have the advantage of controlling the hardware and software side, and since the hardware is overall pretty similar between all iOS devices, it's easy to make a release work across them all.

Similarly, Apple, and Microsoft have no issues releasing OS updates across the board. They set up their release procedures to ensure 10.6.7 or Windows 7 SP1 will launch at the same time for ev